1000 Stories
by The Dead Fish
Summary: *The If you dare Challenge*
1. The Cold

_Prompt #1: Glaciers_

* * *

A valley must feel like this when a glacier was lazily flowing through it, rounding, perfecting the edges.

His heart pounded in his chest, but with excitement, not fear. It felt cold, almost, almost physically so. Later he'd learn how that feeling came and went away again, he got used to it, even enjoyed it because this was the feeling of immortality. Right now, he only observed the sensation as it passed through him.

He was fifteen years old, and he just had locked a piece of his soul into a ring that he felt should have always been his.


	2. Two Noble Houses

_Prompt #52: Shakespeare_

* * *

„Something wicked this way comes!" A burst of laughter accompanied James, Sirius and Remus as they entered the common room after their detention and they replied with triumphant grins. At least amongst the Gryffindors, they were the heroes of the day. It had started out quite like the usual story: a bunch of Gryffindors – let's name them, it was the Marauders – ran into a bunch of Slytherins. They started exchanging nasty glances soon followed by nastier comments, but then, things took an unexpected turn. Remus, unusually daring, had started quoting Shakespeare, and the other immediately took it up, answering every Slytherin insult with a Montague line or whatever came to their mind, until Professor Dumbledore came along and ended the party with: "A plague on both your houses!"


	3. Flying Home

_Prompt #975: Head in the Clouds_

* * *

The clouds were beneath Hermione right now; above was a clear starry sky. She didn't exactly know why she had decided to go to Australia by plane, or why she had turned Ron's and Harry's offers to accompany her down. It just seemed right to travel the muggle way. She was going to find her parents, after all, and she irrationally felt she owed them this. And she wanted to be alone when she found them: she didn't know how either of them would react. She'd never tried to lift a memory modification before, after all. A sudden and horrible doubt crept into her mind: what if she couldn't do it? Her heart started to beat faster, there above the clouds.


	4. Never Hurts Dreaming

_Prompt #137: The Ultimate Boredom Solver_

* * *

„Gather round, don't be shy, there's nothing to be afraid of!", Fred shouted cheerfully at the pupils who were flowing out of the entrance hall onto the grounds after the lessons and, well knowing Fred and George weren't usually up to any good, carefully avoiding the small stage the twins had built up from some wooden chests. George immediately though involuntarily contradicted his brother by catching a first-year who passed by too closely by the arm. "Now, you surely wanna know what the ultimate boredom solver is? Come up here, don't be shy!", George added in gentler tones and half lifted the boy up the stage.

"Now, what do you think is the most boring thing in your life?", Fred asked. The little boy carefully glanced around – now that the twins had their prey, students were closing in interestedly, but no teachers were to be seen – before he answered: "History lessons with Binns." "Totally understandable", Fred said seriously. "Now, what if you could just sneak out of lessons while you're physically present? Awesome, right? Ladies and gentleman, may I present to you: manufactured daydreams, just for you!"


	5. Taking Pictures

_Prompt #1000: Faulty Camera_

* * *

Colin had known his camera never was a high-quality thing: yeah well, his parents had assumed his passion for photography was just a phase, and so only given him a cheap thing for birthday. But he'd show them. He'd be a professional photographer, become famous even. Until now, however, this first camera of his own, a brave little companion, as he liked to think of it, had served very well.

But as he was taking a picture down the empty corridor he knew the camera was faulty: through it, he could see something that couldn't possibly be real.

Next he suddenly felt stone cold, and then nothing at all.


	6. Insanity

_Prompt #875: Husbandry_

* * *

Rodolphus knew Bella didn't love him, probably never had loved him. He had loved her, a long while ago, when she was young and quite beautiful – although… was that real love or the crush of a teenager being wedded, more or less, against his will and arranging with the circumstances? No, he decided, it was love, love that grew and then slowly died like a living creature.

He had time to think about this because he had been hit by a spell in chase of the Potter boy. He didn't even expect Bella to show up at his sickbed. She was out there, ready and willing to do everything she could and several things she couldn't for the Dark Lord.

He didn't know she was insane, though, since he was insane in quite a similar way.


	7. What a Hero is

_Prompt #961: Superman's Dead_

* * *

The moment they realized their hero was dead was a moment of cold in their hearts.

Oh, they didn't know, didn't feel anything close to what his friends felt, but just because it was so different didn't mean it didn't hurt, wasn't real, was a lesser feeling.

It was not that he was famous. It was not that he survived back then.

Symbols can be so strong to us.


	8. Misery

_Prompt #2: Vague Misery_

* * *

Remus was leaning against the door of the Hogwarts Express. The vague thought of opening it and just throwing himself off the train crossed his mind but not seriously enough to do any real harm. People always said he was too serious for his age; he was only eleven.

A couple of minutes ago he had heard a girl squealing excitedly at another: "Have you heard? They say there's a werewolf on the train!" Was it possible that the rumour had come up so fast? Well, maybe it had nothing to do with him at all, maybe it was just a bit of made-up gossip when there was nothing really to gossip about, but he wasn't optimistic enough to believe so.

A pair of boys his age came passing by. One of them, black hair that seemed to be desperately asking for a comb and round glasses, stopped and made the other one wait, too. "Hey you, what's up? We're finally going to Hogwarts, why so gloomy?"


	9. Another Pet

_Prompt #322: Tyrannosaurus rex. R.I.P. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle._

* * *

There was an egg in Hagrid's cabin that seemed rather too large to be a bird's. "Hagrid", Charlie Weasley, who was visiting, carefully started. He knew well enough that Hagrid's pets were usually far from harmless. "What is that?" "Well, an egg", Hagrid answered evasively, pouring tea for both of them. Charlie gazed at him quizzically. "Alright, I don't know exactly", Hagrid admitted. "A guy I met in the Hog's Head brought it back from an expedition to Southern America, an' believe me, he was not the kin' o' person you'd want ter see raise any baby." "Southern America", Charlie repeated, in his mind going through all dangerous Southern American beasts he had ever heard of.

At that moment, a crack showed in the egg's shell. "It's hatching!", Hagrid exclaimed excitedly. It took a while, and they sat there into the night, but finally a rather odd creature sat in the improvised nest Hagrid had built for the egg. Its head seemed a little too large, and its arms definitely were too small. It appeared to be covered in some kind of thin feathers. "A carnivore, by the shape of his teeth", Hagrid, who might have been silly about his animal friends but knew what he was doing, said happily and added towards the little creature who was just trying to stand: "Here's a good boy, come to momma!"


	10. Hidden

_Prompt #153: Dragon's Breath_

* * *

The creature slowly opened its wings, stretching them, then just as slowly opened its eyes. A fiery gaze hit the secret visitor like a knife.

Hagrid wasn't the only one in the castle obsessed with dragons when they came for the Trimagical Tournament. Quietly, Angelina had slipped out and into the night in the small hours. A friend of her mother's worked at the Ministry, and so she had learned about the dragons' presence; that they would be hidden in the forest was just pure logic, since there was nowhere else on the ground where they could be hidden safely. It made her feel slightly sadder than she had expected to see the great reptiles captured.

Displaying a calm she didn't feel (but she was used to that from the Quidditch matches), she approached the Horntail she had accidentally woken up. Its wistful eyes seemed to conceal human or higher intelligence. Then suddenly, quicker than its to the moment measured movements had suggested, it opened its mouth and breathed a flaring flame towards Angelina, who threw herself to the ground and rolled, more following her instincts than really thinking, back between the trees.

She felt her heart pounding wildly as she stared up to the dark: the night sky was completely hidden by black branches.


	11. Full Moon

_Prompt #3: Moonstruck_

* * *

The full moon was up. Sirius, who was standing at the window of the common room which was now empty except for the three of them, turned to the others and said: "Come on, let's go!" James pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of his bag, grinning from ear to ear. Silently, they slipped out of the common room, through the castle and out on the grounds.

Between some bushes, carefully checking that they could not be seen from the castle, James lay the neatly folded cloak on the ground. "Ready?", he asked the others. They were all excited – it was the first time they did this – and especially Peter didn't look exactly happy, yet they both nodded, and next a dog, a rat and a stag were heading towards the Whomping Willow.

As they had planned out before, Peter quickly slipped beneath the twigs of the tree and froze it. He and Sirius went through the secret passage, while James remained – he would call and warn them if anyone was approaching just when they would come out. He looked quite impressive, a lonely stag standing still in the moonlight, while the tree started to move again.

Soon enough, the rat and the dog returned, now accompanied by a large wolf.


	12. Expectations

_Prompt #4: Reality Bites_

* * *

The Sorting had just begun. The Sorting Hat had said nothing unusual whatsoever that year, and now the first of the new arrivals standing in line stepped forward with shaking legs.

Severus knew he would be a Slytherin, and that he still had some time, so he allowed himself to drift away on the memories of the wonderful summer that lay behind him. He had been hanging out with Lily mostly. Her sister – Petunia, if he remembered correctly, though he didn't care for her much – had told their muggle parents about it, but they were very fine with it. Lily had even told him they suggested she should invite him for dinner, but he had turned the offer down. He was still unsure why, or whether that had been a wise decision.

"Evans, Lily!" He snapped back to reality fast as thought could be, to see the red-head he loved, though he wouldn't have called it love, not yet, walk towards the chair and the Hat.

He didn't have the slightest doubt she would be a Slytherin, too.


	13. Learning a Lesson

_Prompt #5: That Is Enough_

* * *

"That is enough", Professor McGonagall said, looking up from her papers. "You can go now. I can only hope you have learned your lesson." Fred and George stood up as one, cheerfully wished, "Good night, Professor", and left her office where they had been in detention.

"What do you think, bro?", Fred asked on their way back to the Gryffindor tower. "Any plans for tomorrow?"

"As you always say so wisely, a day without the slightest bit of mayhem is a wasted day. But still, right now I'm remarkably uncreative in the chaos department. Must be McGonagalls lines", George answered.

"Oh dear, don't tell me she has finally reached her goal", Fred moaned. They turned a corner and found themselves face to face with Mrs Norris who looked at them disapprovingly, then disappeared like a shadow.

"You know what, Freddie?", George said. "We should really do something about that cat."


	14. Arrival

_Prompt #143: Castle_

* * *

He was not easily impressed, no, really not, or at least so he told himself. But when the boats approached the amazing and wonderful castle of Hogwarts, he was stunned, although he would never have admitted it. The other pupils in the boat where chattering excitedly, but Tom just sat in the bow, or as close to it as he could get, and stared up to the towers and bright windows of his new home.

For this was his home, he knew it. No comparison to the old orphanage. What he needed, what he would have always demanded of life had he known he could get it, was a place of miracle and secrets and a glorious past, present, and future – in short, a place of magic.


	15. Heartbreak

_Prompt #219: Shipwreck_

* * *

Lavender's heart was broken and would never be mended, or so she felt. To be very straight, she would be quite okay the same time next week, but right now, she needed a shoulder to cry on. Parvati was in the library but quickly closed her books and followed her friend to their now empty dormitory when she saw her misery.

"How can he? I mean, how can he?", Lavender sobbed as soon as they were alone. Parvati carefully put an arm around her shoulders. "What happened?" "It's Granger. I knew it. I should have known." She buried her face in Parvatis shoulder. Parvati, who still had little more than a slight idea of what was going on, patted Lavenders back and was tactful enough not to ask right now. "It's okay, Lav", she murmured, "it's gonna be okay…"

Lavender sat up a bit straighter and wiped the tears off her face. "Hermione", she said, trying to regain control of her voice. "He loves her, not me. I should have known." She pulled a hankie from her pocket and blew her nose, then sat there, rocking slightly back and forth and staring out of the window.

"Really", Parvati said, unsure whether that was the right thing to say, "you're better off without him. Don't let him bring you down like this, he doesn't deserve you at all." Lavender took a deep breath. "Probably", she said, then tried a little smile. "Thanks, Parvati."


	16. The End of Bellatrix

_Prompt #999: Love Is Watching Someone Die_

* * *

Bellatrix never, not for a second, thought her master could possibly be defeated. Duelling with Molly, no worry or fear crossed her mind. She knew she might die, but that didn't scare her in the slightest way: it only added a little prickling to this game, and she laughed out loud. She would cause that stupid blood traitor more pain than she ever had experiences before in her entire life, and if not, all the same – then she would die serving her master, her love.

It only annoyed her that she couldn't focus at the same time on Voldemort's fight, and her own: what if, heaven forbid, he did need help? But she comforted herself with the thought that was extremely unlikely, if not impossible. And so she laughed in the face of death.

It was her luck she died in that duel. Had she lived to see Voldemort fall, she would have died the same moment of a broken heart.


	17. A New Season

_Prompt #170: Colosseum_

* * *

It was the first Quidditch game of the season: Gryffindor against Slytherin. Scorpius winked at Albus as they walked onto the pitch, but they both knew that though they were usually friends, they wouldn't be giving each other an easy time up there: after all, there was some tradition of Seekers in both their families.

After the usual request for a fair game, the players rose into the air. It was a bright, sunshiny morning, rather warm even. The audience cheered and shouted and sang out their respective loyalties. From up in the air, they looked like the red and green and silver and gold skin of a monster, moving while it breathed.

Both Albus and Scorpius felt the season had started.


	18. Warmongering

_Prompt #6: Warmongering_

* * *

"This is crazy", Cornelius Fudge repeated, a smile frozen on his face. He just had come to Dumbledore's office, for the last time, it would turn out, in his life.

"You can call it crazy", Dumbledore answered calmly. "Yet the voice of sanity, in a crazy time, will sound crazy."

"Oh, stop your oh so clever talking", Fudge hissed. "You know as well as I what this warmongering would end up as, chaos and destruction, that's all that would come from it! And for what? The word of a boy who's – well, whose sanity is highly doubtable, who can talk to snakes, who-"

Dumbledore wearily raised a hand. "Enough, Cornelius. You've told me all that. And I know what's going on. You are scared to take steps that might be unpopular at this time but might save hundreds of lives in the future. So be it! Courage, they say, is not being fearless but to overcome fear, and you just proved a coward. Go now, please. I have nothing more to say to you."

Fudge stood up but seemed so desperate to have the last word that he hesitated to leave. Finally, he settled for a "You will hear from me, Dumbledore!" and rushed out of the door.


	19. Envy

_Prompt #7: Green with Envy_

* * *

It was not that he hadn't known it. It was that he had, and still was disappointed. It was so obvious. No, being "The Boy Who Lived" wasn't enough for Mr Potter. He had to be the School Champion, even though that was forbidden, steal Cedric's show (not that he had ever cared for Cedric, but it was about the _principle_), and worst of all, hadn't shared any of it with him, Ron.

He kept telling himself that he had known it. That Harry had gotten so used to his fame he needed more, and that he, who had regarded himself his best friend, was merely a companion, used and tossed aside when he grew tired of him.

Deep within him, he knew he was wrong, that Harry would never do something like that, but he told that wiser inner voice that the facts were against it.

Only a monster could make up for this.


	20. Talker

_Prompt #475: Snakes_

* * *

Tom strode along the lake, a few of his friends (as such they considered themselves) or followers (as he liked to think of them) close behind him, when he saw a snake sunbathing near the water. It turned its head as it felt the humans approaching. "Good day, Talker", it whispered before slipping into the bushes. That was what the snakes on the grounds called him, Talker; most of them had already heard of him.

"Good day, Hunter", he replied quietly. By now he knew enough about the snakes' etiquette to use the correct form of address on a stranger. His companions looked at him with a mixture of respect and fear as they heard the almost inaudible hiss, and he deeply enjoyed it. "Leave me alone", he then ordered them; he wanted to have a few words with the snake, and though the others couldn't understand parsletongue anyway, he preferred to keep these private conversations, well, private. Besides, the snakes were scared of strangers.

His followers obeyed without hesitation, and as soon as their voices, now chattering excitedly, had disappeared down the path, the snake was back. Tom took a seat on a rock right next to the path and the snake joined him. "What is it, Talker?", it asked. "You're a strange human, you know. Most of your kind like to keep company." Tom smiled coolly when it said he was strange. Yes, he was. Strange. Different. At least the snakes knew it.

"You keep me company", he answered.


End file.
